how secure is your password

The security of a password depends primarily on its length, complexity, and uniqueness. Passwords should ideally be at least 12 characters long and include a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters to withstand brute force attacks that try many combinations rapidly. Strong passwords can take centuries for modern computers to crack. It is also crucial not to reuse passwords across multiple accounts and to avoid passwords that have been exposed in past data breaches. Using unique passwords for each online account and managing them with a password manager enhances security significantly. Password strength checkers assess how long it would take a computer to crack a password, check if the password has been leaked, and offer suggestions to improve it. Such tools perform their analysis locally in the browser or use privacy-preserving methods like k-anonymity to protect password privacy. Overall, a secure password is long, complex, unique, and unexposed to breaches. Using passphrases (combinations of random words) can also improve memorability while maintaining strength. For managing many strong passwords, a password manager is highly recommended.